NFBE Chapter 5 Skirt Torn
Chapter 5 Skirt Torn
Suddenly, the man opened his eyes.
Their eyes met, and the man's sharp features and murderous aura in his eyes startled Xu Jiaojiao.
She hastily withdrew her hand and distanced herself from the man.
Driven by instinct, Zhao Yunzheng suddenly sat up and reached out towards Xu Jiaojiao's neck.
"His..."
It all happened by a twist of fate.
Xu Jiaojiao dodged Zhao Yunzheng's hand that was choking her neck, but her clothes were torn open at the collar.
"Ding ding dong dong..."
The exquisite jade beads on her clothes were scattered all over the ground, making a pleasant tapping sound.
The atmosphere froze. Xu Jiaojiao, still shaken, stared at Zhao Yunzheng and blurted out, "How could you repay kindness with enmity?!"
……
Outside the Stone Warm Pavilion.
The cat, perched in the tree, gazed at the two pots of peonies at the entrance of the Stone Warm Pavilion courtyard and fell into deep thought.
No, why would you put peonies at the door for no reason?
This is harmful!
The master must have gone to the wrong courtyard.
I wonder which concubine lives in this courtyard. If the master's whereabouts are exposed, it will be a huge problem!
With a light leap, Yingyi jumped from the tree to the roof.
Judging from the broken tiles on the roof, the master must have already entered the house.
His master was injured, and he covered his retreat, which is how he got separated from his master. His master was seriously injured, and he didn't know how his master was doing now.
With that thought in mind, Yingyi silently knocked out the two maids serving in the courtyard and broke down the door.
"Master! Are you inside?!"
Inside the room, Zhao Yunzheng realized that it was the woman in front of him who had saved him.
The woman looked at him fearfully, her small face pale with fright. For a moment, she didn't even care that her clothes were torn, and her wet eyes looked very pitiful.
Her exposed shoulder had skin as white as snow, like the finest mutton fat jade, which shimmered slightly in the candlelight.
Zhao Yunzheng withdrew his hand and awkwardly looked away.
Just as I was about to apologize, Shadow One burst in like a thunderbolt.
Zhao Yunzheng: "..."
He pursed his lips and, before Yingyi could get close, pulled the blanket over the woman's fair and slender body.
As Ying Yi approached, he was stunned by the chaos before him.
Zhao Yunzheng frowned, his gaze as cold as a knife.
Yingyi shuddered and immediately turned around, realizing the situation.
The man arrived unexpectedly and left swiftly.
Xu Jiaojiao was a little dazed, clutching the blanket.
Suddenly remembering something, she threw off the covers, hurried into the yard, and called out to the man's retreating figure, "Hey! I saved you, so you can't kill me to silence me!"
Zhao Yunzheng paused, turned around and looked at the woman in the courtyard who was clutching her collar and staring at him expectantly, his eyes darkening.
He said nothing, glanced at Xu Jiaojiao, and then quickly disappeared into the night with Yingyi.
Xu Jiaojiao muttered to herself: Is this person mute? Otherwise, why didn't he say a word all night?
He must have heard what he said, right?
So, will he still kill himself?
Xu Jiaojiao was in a state of utter confusion.
Turning around, Xu Jiaojiao saw Lianxin and Lianye, who had been knocked unconscious in the yard. She was stunned and suddenly remembered the dress that the man had torn. In an instant, she felt like the sky had fallen.
This dress was a gift from the princess!
……
Yunxiu Pavilion.
The doctor looked at Zhao Yunzheng's abdominal wound with a troubled expression, his brows furrowed: "I wonder who bandaged the prince's wound? Although the person was bold and meticulous, knowing to use hair instead of silk thread to suture the wound, the stitching is still too ugly!"
He covered his face with his hands and sighed deeply: "This place will definitely leave a big scar in the future."
Zhao Yunzheng glanced down at the centipede-like wound on his abdomen and said nonchalantly, "It's nothing, as long as you're alive."
The doctor chuckled twice and diligently treated Zhao Yunzheng's wound.
The latter turned to look at Shadow One: "Has the messenger been caught?"
Yingyi nodded slightly: "We've caught him. He couldn't withstand the torture and has already confessed. He's one of Prince Jin's men."
Zhao Yunzheng chuckled as expected.
The doctor applied the best wound medicine to Zhao Yunzheng's wound, and the slight pain interrupted his thoughts.
He couldn't help but glance at the bandages that the doctor had tossed aside.
Calling it a bandage is an understatement; it's more accurate to call it a scrap of cloth.
Upon closer inspection, it's not hard to spot the embroidery on the scraps of cloth, a style unique to women. Zhao Yunzheng was reminded of the woman in the Stone Warm Pavilion.
She lived in the west courtyard of the Prince's mansion, so she must have been one of his concubines.
Thinking of the woman's last words, Zhao Yunzheng smiled for no reason.
Interesting, she actually mistook him for an assassin who was going to take her life.
After a brief silence, he asked again, "That woman I asked you to investigate the other day, did you find out her identity?"
Shadow One looked slightly surprised.
Why would the master think of asking about a woman who has absolutely nothing to do with the Prince of Jin?
However, Yingyi still answered truthfully: "That woman is a newly appointed concubine of the princess, named Xu Jiaojiao, and has a very clean background."
Tonight's events were purely coincidental. This woman isn't worth monitoring. Should I withdraw the personnel who were monitoring her?
I thought it would be fine if my master just asked.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Yunzheng said, "Continue to monitor."
……
The next day.
Lianye was awakened by the cold, and when she woke up, she found that her neck was in excruciating pain.
In an instant, she recalled what had happened last night.
Yes, she was sweeping the yard last night when she was knocked unconscious for some reason.
Looking around, Lianye also spotted Lianxin lying under the corridor.
She quickly went forward to wake Lianxin.
The two whispered among themselves in confusion for a while, then suddenly realized that there was no sound at all inside the main house.
Recalling the strange events of last night, Lianye had a bad feeling.
She quickly ran into the main house.
"what!!"
Hearing the screams, Lianxin ran in as well.
Upon seeing Xu Jiaojiao lying on the bed in a pool of blood, her life hanging in the balance, Lianxin turned pale, staggered a couple of steps, and fell to the ground.
Master Xu is dead?
Suppressing her immense fear, Lianye mustered her courage and stepped forward to investigate.
Upon discovering that Master Xu had merely fainted and was not dead, they breathed a sigh of relief.
The master is still alive, that's wonderful!
The lotus heart on the ground, however, thought differently.
Xu Jiaojiao lay on the bed, her clothes disheveled. Could it be that she was defiled by someone last night?
Seeing the bruises on Xu Jiaojiao's exposed skin, Lianxin became even more certain of her guess.
What bad luck! I've only been here a few days and this has already happened!
She had no intention of risking her life and fortune by following this concubine who was destined to be out of favor.
I need to quickly distance myself from Xu Jiaojiao and get rid of this hot potato as soon as possible.
Of course, it would be best if Xu Jiaojiao died, then she could be transferred back to the East Courtyard!
Thinking of this, Lianxin stepped forward: "Lianye, judging from her appearance, she must have been defiled last night. Let's hurry and report to the Princess Consort, lest we be implicated!"
Lianye shook her head: "What are you talking about? How can you report something so carelessly when you can't distinguish right from wrong?"
Besides, we are now Master Xu's people, so naturally we must side with Master Xu. Now that she is unconscious, how can we abandon her?"
Lianxin scoffed.
In her eyes, Lianye's straightforwardness and inflexibility were nothing but blind loyalty!
However, since Lianye is going to spend her life with Xu Jiaojiao in the backyard of the Prince's mansion, then if she suffers misery in the future, it is her own fault. Anyway, she has already warned her not to rely on her in the future!
Lianxin curled her lip in disdain: "Tch, a concubine who doesn't even have any favors, does she deserve to be called a master? If you don't go, I will. If you want to stay and wait to die with your Master Xu, then stay and wait. I'm not going to accompany you!"
"Hey, Lianxin, you..." Lianxin turned and ran, disappearing from the courtyard in a flash. Lianye couldn't stop her in time and sighed helplessly.
I just hope that Lianxin won't talk nonsense in front of the Princess...